The FBI has arrested an Ohio man for allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the U.S. Capitol, where he hoped to set off a series of bombs aimed at lawmakers, whom he allegedly considered enemies. Christopher Lee Cornell, of Cincinnati...

Kansas legislators have decided to live by the same law and principles that they have required of communities around the State. They welcome armed people who have obtained concealed carry permits into the Statehouse. It is not as if there is any serious risk involved. People who go to the trouble of obtaining concealed carry permits have repeatedly shown themselves to be many times more law abiding than the general population. They commit murder at only a fraction of the rate that police officers do. If the legislature trusts armed police officers in their Statehouse, they certainly should trust...

As America withers from the effects of falling incomes, a shrinking labor force, abysmal economic growth, and decaying social capital, our imperial capital city remains vibrant. Washington, D.C. is as prosperous and prominent as it has ever been. Parenting magazine has named DC as the best place in America to raise a family. The counties of Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland which surround the capital are seven of the ten wealthiest in America. While Houston does petroleum, New York finance, and San Francisco technology, the business of Washington is influence peddling, palm greasing, and sausage making. Perhaps this explains...

On April 29th, hundreds of Second Amendment supporters attended the Second Amendment rally at the State Capitol in Lansing, Michigan. The rally has grown over the years and is now a major annual event at the Capitol. These rallies are becoming more and more common around the nation. There were numerous articles written about the Michigan event this year. MLive published an article complaining about the open carry practices of the rally members at the Capitol. The writer, Mark Lawrence, is identified as: Mark Lawrence works for the Michigan Legislature and is a member of the National Rifle...

Seven Democratic lawmakers are pushing to ban the use of electronic cigarettes on the grounds of the Capitol complex as part of a wider campaign against them. Led by the Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin (Ill.), the group called on rulemaking committees in both chambers to include e-cigarettes in the Capitol's existing ban on smoking in public places and near building entrances. "Given preliminary [federal] research finding harmful chemicals present in e-cigarettes, measures should be taken to ensure that the public is equally protected from the potential dangers posed by e-cigarettes and their vapor," the lawmakers wrote Tuesday. Via a...

One of the men seeking the GOP nomination for Nebraska’s open Senate seat is proposing moving the capital from Washington to his home state, saying it would be an effective way to cut out the lobbyists and special interests that have turned Capitol Hill into an ATM dispensing taxpayers’ money. “That’s it, the way to cure the incredible ineffectiveness and dysfunction of both parties in Washington — we move the Capitol to Nebraska,” Ben Sasse, a university president and former Bush administration official, said in 30-second campaign ad that ran in Nebraska over the weekend during the NFL playoff games....

Outside the U.S. Capitol, Gus impatiently sat at the ready in the Senate parking lot, eyeing the tennis ball in his handler’s right hand. The chance to play with K-9 Tech Charles McGuire enticed the 5-year-old black Labrador retriever, but work comes before play for this member of the U.S. Capitol Police canine unit. “You ready? I’ve got the ball, you have to get ready,” McGuire scolded before he launched Gus into action one recent afternoon. In a matter of minutes, the pair swept around a row of parked cars — a red Ford Focus, a silver Saab sedan and...

A diverse group will gather near the U.S. Capitol on Saturday to denounce the government's dragnet phone and Internet surveillance programs revealed in June by whistle-blower Edward Snowden. The date is the 12th anniversary of President George W. Bush signing into law the USA Patriot Act, which with approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court allowed years of hushed data collection by the National Security Agency. "We're expecting this to be the largest privacy-related rally – potentially – in U.S. history," said Evan Greer, campaign manager of Fight for the Future, an Internet policy group that's helping organize the event....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Police in Washington are reviewing the use of officers' deadly force in the killing of a woman who tried to ram her car through a White House barrier, a shooting her family says was unjustified.

Miriam Carey (right), is the woman identified in news reports as the suspect in a shooting incident that left Capitol Hill on lockdown for a brief period Thursday afternoon, and has now reportedly been shot dead by police. This photo is from a newsletter announcing her having been hired as a hygenist at a Connecticut periodontics practice. Advanced Periodontics -ibtimes.com A woman with a one year old child unsuccessfully tried to ram her car through the security gates of the White House today. The police and Secret Service pursued the woman, and even though reports say she was not...

In shutting down the government, members of Congress have turned their own U.S. Capitol complex into a ghost town running on a skeleton crew. There aren't any tourists milling through the Capitol rotunda. Fewer police officers are working, so many entrances are closed. Up to two-thirds of each office's staff is at home, forced to shut off their BlackBerries. And many of the usual comforts of a lawmaker's day job have vanished.

The Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Protesters angered by the acquittal of George Zimmerman in Trayvon Martin's killing are leaving the Florida Capitol after staging a 31-day protest. The small but determined group wanted Gov. Rick Scott to call a special session to repeal the state's "stand your ground" law. Scott refused. But House Speaker Will Weatherford agreed to hold a legislative hearing on the law. Organizers say they are not giving up on their goals.

ST. PAUL, Minn.—A task force studying security at Minnesota's Capitol is starting a review of regulations for having firearms in the building. The Advisory Committee on Capitol Security has two hearings planned on the topic, the first coming Wednesday. Next week, the panel expects to take public testimony. People with proper permits and notice can have a gun with them in the Capitol and nearby buildings. Hundreds of people have declared their intention to do so since Minnesota last updated its handgun permit law. During last session's hearings on eventually unsuccessful gun legislation, some people showed up with their firearms...

I guess freedom of assembly is not in style anymore… This was left on the voice mail of the organizer of today’s Audit the IRS Tea Party rally. The Capitol Police left this message attacking the Tea Party folks in Washington DC. “There are members of your group that are moving into other areas of the Capital grounds joining other groups on the east front of the Capitol. That activity is not authorized.” They didn’t want the Tea Party protesters to join the immigration rally on the other side of the Capitol building. They said it was not authorized.

Scandal politics are sweeping Capitol Hill. Just days after news broke that the IRS targeted conservative nonprofits, Speaker John Boehner’s House committees will morph into mock courtrooms where the White House will be the defendant in what amounts to a number of high-stakes political trials.The most recent scandal to grip the Obama administration came Monday evening, when The Associated Press disclosed that the Justice Department sought its reporters’ phone records — including those of correspondents who sit in the Capitol. Within hours, House Republicans vowed to investigate. To make things worse for President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder

**SNIP** “Just to put in a good word for the frustration that our staff is feeling in the Cannon [House office building] tunnel,” she said, in a YouTube video of her comments. “We’re still in the midst of the Spring Break session and the lines are very, very long and with the closure — again, when we’re in session, so not just doors, but magnetometers, having a staff only magnetometer open in the Cannon tunnel as much as possible so there are staff when — particularly when they are walking with us, who can go around them — it would...

“You know, those Capitol janitors will not get as much overtime. I’m sure they think less pay, that they’re taking home, does hurt.” — Gene Sperling, director of the White House economic council, on ABC News’ “This Week,” March 3, 2013 “On the issue of the janitors, if you work for an hourly wage and you earn overtime, and you depend on that overtime to make ends meet, it is simply a fact that a reduction in overtime is a reduction in your pay.” — White House spokesman Jay Carney, news briefing, March 4 At a news conference last Friday,...

(CNSNews.com) – For the second time in two years, Washington, D.C., has been ranked the number one city for cheaters. According to AshleyMadison.com, a web site that bills itself as “the world’s leading married dating service for discreet encounters,” the nation’s capital was at the top of the list of America’s Least Faithful Cities with 34,157 sign-ups – more sign-ups per capita in 2012. “With enormous public attention paid to political cheating scandals this year, including the Gen. Petraeus affair, there was no doubt that Washington residents would be influenced. Living in DC it’s crucial to keep up appearances and...

I estimated that there were over a thousand people in attendance. I counted 100, then counted roughly equivalent slices. I would estimate that about on third of participants were armed. The gun show a short distance away (competition for the rally) was packed. Dean Weingarten

Just a quick note. I am tired from driving to Phoenix to the protest against more gun laws at the capitol, then a quick look at the fairgrounds for the gun show, and then found my place in the desert broke into on the way back. I have some pictures of the rally at the capitol that I hope to post later. We arrived at the show about 11:45, and had a hard time finding parking. Finally found a spot and moved to the capitol. I counted out a hundred people, cut the crowd into roughly equivalent slices, and figured...

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. Still Has Capitol Hill Allies, but Support is WaningAs allegations mount, Illinois politicians are standing with Jackson -- for now By Lauren Fox November 19, 2012 **SNIP** Fellow Democratic Illinois Rep. Danny Davis says that while Jackson faces mounting problems, it's hard to believe his long-time friend would have engaged in such behavior. Jackson is accused of purchasing a $40,000 Rolex and redecorating his home with campaign finances. "If he were functioning not in an altered mental or emotional state, he would not have committed those acts," Davis says. "They don't seem like something that a...

Congress gives OK to electric car charging stations on Capitol HillBy Ramsey Cox - 08/03/12 12:35 PM ET Congress has approved legislation that would allow the Architect of the Capitol to construct battery-recharging stations for electric cars in congressional parking areas. The bill introduced by Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Mich.) requires that construction be at no net cost to the government but says the Architect of the Capitol could construct, operate and maintain battery-recharging stations in House and Senate parking lots. Users would pay a fee, which would eventually pay for the installation and maintenance of the stations. The bill passed...

Climate activists scuttle plans for ice-melting protest on Capitol HillBy Ben Geman - 07/07/12 10:59 AM ET A climate advocacy group has canceled plans to unveil an ice sculpture next to the Capitol Saturday that was meant to counter global warming skeptics in Congress, citing concerns it would be insensitive to West Virginia residents still without power. The group 350.org had planned to unveil ice forming the word “hoax?” on a day when Washington, D.C. temperatures are expected to reach almost 105 degrees, which would break the daily record and approach the city’s all-time high. The fast-melting ice would have...

A big splash occurred on Monday morning at the House Press Gallery in the U.S. Capitol. No, this wasn’t one of those unexpected guest appearances for celebrities to talk to reporters about some favorite cause. This splash came from an exploding urinal. More specifically, something suddenly broke in the piping of the third-floor urinal, and water began spewing from beneath the men’s room door. As the water flowed, it first surrounded the Associated Press’s working area, then spread toward both ends of the gallery, which was occupied by fewer than usual reporters and staffers, because the House is out of...

FBI agents arrested a 29-year-old man in a sting operation Friday night who planned a suicide bombing attack on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd told reporters the suspect had been closely monitored by law enforcement while planning to detonate what he believed were explosives. He allegedly prayed in a Washington mosque shortly before his arrest. The suspect was allegedly of Moroccan descent and has spent 12 years in the United States, but it is not clear whether he has U.S. citizenship. He had been under surveillance for several weeks, sources said, and had considered a...

Washington - The FBI and Capitol police arrested a man Friday who thought he was going to carry out a bombing attack on the U.S. Capitol but was in fact dealing with FBI undercover operatives for the past few months, federal officials told NBC News. The man, Amine el Khalifi, 29, who is from Morocco, was arrested about noon ET Friday near the Capitol after he received what he thought was a firearm and a vest containing explosives from people he thought were supporters of al-Qaida, sources told NBC News. In fact, the vest had inert material that wasn't hazardous,

(CNSNews.com) - The 63-foot Sierra White Fir lighted at the U.S. Capitol Grounds on Dec. 6 as the official 2011 Capitol Christmas Tree includes a prominently displayed ornament paying homage to President Barack Obama, but includes no ornament readily visible to a person standing near the tree's base that uses the word Â“Christmas,Â” or includes an image of the Nativity, or bears the name or image of Jesus Christ. On the north side of the tree--at a height of about 4 feet and easily visible to people standing near it---there is an ornament that says: Â“I â™Ą President Obama.Â”

A conservative group has set up a nativity scene at the Capitol building in Madison, and an atheists' group is seeking its own permit for an opposing display. A WISC-TV report says Wisconsin Family Action has been granted a permit to display its scene until the end of the month. The six statuettes that sit on a table depict the birth of Jesus Christ. Group spokeswoman Julaine Appling says the display is tasteful. She says there's room for a number of different voices. But the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation says a nativity scene isn't appropriate for a state building....

Update, 5 p.m. Occupy Austin protestors left the Capitol peacefully after Texas Department of Public Safety troopers notified them that they could only stay for three hours in a 24 hour period without a permit. DPS officials weren’t immediately available to comment on the rules surrounding protests on Capitol grounds. Troopers at the Capitol declined to comment. Update, 3:50 p.m. About 30 protestors have now gathered at the Capitol. Ihor Gowda, who has participated with Occupy Austin since its inception in October, said that troopers with the Department of Public Safety have informed protestors that there is a 10 p.m.-6...

Gongwer News Service reported recently that the agency that oversees Capitol Square moved Monday to avoid a public hearing on gun regulations. On October 20, the unelected CSRAB voted to prohibit concealed guns on the property surrounding the Statehouse. From coverage at the time from The Columbus Dispatch: "The thought was that the board wants to be proactive as we continue to have more events outside," said Gregg Dodd, the board's deputy director. "The board's intent is to make the Statehouse the people's house, inclusive and acceptable to everybody, and we just want to assure that all families that are...

TALLAHASSEE — Until less than two weeks ago, someone with a concealed weapon's permit wishing to enter Florida's Capitol with a gun had to leave it in a lock box at the door. That policy, like hundreds of local ordinances limiting where gun owners could bring their weapons, may have been illegal, but that all ended Oct. 1, when a new state law went into effect affirming that only the Legislature can enact laws regulating guns. As cities and counties statewide scrambled to make sure they were in compliance or face a $100,000 fine, the Capitol Police instituted a new...

A 26-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested and charged today in connection with a plot to attack the Pentagon and the Capitol, the Justice Department announced.Â Rezwan Ferdaus, a U.S. citizen, is accused of planning to use a remote-controlled aircraft filled with explosives to attack the buildings. He was also charged with attempting to provide support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization â€” specifically al-Qaida, the organization behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I know what you're thinking, PC police: "That's unfair, you Islamophobe!Â Just because his name is Rezwan doesn't mean he's a Muslim, or that his planned attacks were...

ASHLAND (CBS) – Rezwan Ferdaus had run into some minor trouble in the past, but neighbors in his quiet Ashland neighborhood are terrified to hear the disturbing accusations he’s currently facing. The 26-year-old Ferdaus was arrested on Wednesday and charged with plotting to crash explosive-laden remote control planes into the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol. According to neighbors, the home that federal agents raided belongs to Ferdaus’ parents. They moved in 14 years ago and Rezwan still lived with them.

BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts man was arrested Wednesday and accused of plotting to destroy the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol by attacking the buildings with large, remote-controlled aircraft armed with lethal amounts of explosives.... According to a federal affidavit, Ferdaus said he wanted to deal a psychological blow to Americans, the "enemies of Allah," by hitting the Pentagon, which he called "head and heart of the snake."

For the second time in the past week, hundreds of laid off state workers rallied in the hot sun on the steps of Minnesota’s closed State Capitol to protest the state government shutdown. Wednesday’s rally again took aim at familiar theme: Taxing the state's wealthiest residents to help solve the state’s $5 billion budget deficit. One man held a sign that took his frustration a step further – he had changed it from “Tax the Rich” to “Eat the Rich.”

MADISON, Wis. - Protests at the Wisconsin Capitol over public workers' collective bargaining rights cost more than $7.8 million for police, and damage to the Capitol will cost about $270,000 to repair, a state official said. Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said during a news conference Friday that local law enforcement incurred $3.9 million in overtime costs from Feb. 14 to March 13. Another $3.5 million was spent on overtime for state agencies that helped cover security such as the Capitol Police, Wisconsin State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources and the Division of Criminal Investigation. Huebsch said that the...

Cindy Sheehan, the Northern California peace activist who rose to prominence for starting an encampment near President Bush‘s Texas ranch, will headline a week-long occupation of the State Capitol next week to protest proposed spending cuts and encourage lawmakers to extend tax hikes. Initially proposed by the California Teachers Association, the occupation has expanded to include protesters with the California Alliance for Retired Americans and the fringe Peace and Freedom political party as well as peace organizations Veterans for Peace and Peace of the Action, of which Sheehan is national director. Sheehan, speaking at a Thursday morning press conference at...

Wednesday, April 06, 2011 at 12:00 PM (ET) Washington, DC Wednesday, April 6th in Washington, DC to tell the Budget Committee to Cut Spending Now. They need to hear from you as they crunch numbers and grapple with this year’s budget. You’ve had to tighten your family budget in this struggling economy. They should have to tighten the national budget too. Michele Bachmann is a confirmed speaker. Bus arrangements being made for: New Jersey North Carolina Pennsylvania Maryland Virginia

<p>LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A few dozen protesters are staging a peaceful rally inside the Michigan Capitol and say they would like to stay when the building closes for the night.</p>
<p>They are opposed to education funding cuts, taxes on pensions and legislation that would give emergency managers more power over financially distressed local governments and schools.</p>

Activists confirm plans to peacefully take CapitolBy Todd A. Heywood | 03.15.11 | 12:47 pm A group of Michigan activists has confirmed that it plans to stage a protest in the state Capitol building at 4 p.m. today. Lance Enderle, a former Democratic candidate for Michigan’s 8th Congressional district, confirmed moments ago that he is leading the protest. “We are planning to exercise our free speech rights in a non-violent way,” Enderle said. “We will take the Rotunda, and we are not leaving.” The Capitol building closes at 5:30 p.m. and officials have told Michigan Messenger that anyone remaining in...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a former businessman and now a freshman senator, held a conference call Thursday afternoon with a small group of bloggers. For a freshman, he's entirely fluid on the issues and easily navigates between specifics and larger themes. I asked him about Wisconsin. Why did Gov. Scott Walker take so long to pull out the "fiscal" elements and pass the legislation without a quorum? Johnson first made clear that he and the governor believe this "is not about individual workers . . . but about rebalancing the equation" so that the taxpayers' interests are being protected. As...

Breaking on Fox News from Mike Tobin at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison. Protesters have trapped GOP lawmakers in their offices shutting down the vote at 11 AM and have threatened violence and are trying to enter their offices.

Madison — Demonstrators crowded the Capitol in a wild scene after senators passed a budget-repair bill in a hastily called meeting Wednesday night that outraged protesters and Democratic legislators. Protesters yelled slogans and blew whistles as the Capitol took on the intensity and passion that marked the early days of the protests. Protesters demanded to be let inside, and in one scene at the southeastern entrance of the Capitol, scores of protesters pressed against the door as two-dozen police pushed them back. One protester got partly inside the door and was dragged in by the State Patrol. Outside, protesters chanted...

West Virginia's two Democratic senators blamed House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday after their hopes of having the remains of World War I veteran Frank Buckles honored in the Capitol Rotunda were dashed, at least for now. Excerpt due to AP

State officials said Thursday that damage to the marble inside and out the State Capitol would cost an estimated $7.5 million. Cari Anne Renlund, chief legal counsel for the state Department of Administration, said in Dane County court that estimates of damage to marble includes $6 million to repair damaged marble inside the Capitol, $1 million for damage outside and $500,000 for costs to supervise the damage. Much of the damage apparently has come from tape used to put up signs and placards at the Capitol.

Madison -- Administration Secretary Michael Huebsch estimated Wednesday that law enforcement costs to provide security at the State Capitol through February would likely total $4 million to $5 million.